Red Bull midfielder Rafa Marquez is the captain and leader of Mexico’s National Team, and now he’s leading 13 El Tri players in sending a letter to their national federation threatening a boycott if their conditions aren’t met, primarily the ouster of FMF boss Nestor De La Torre. Rafa the Revolutionary?

“Right now we are managing that internally and right now we are having conversations to straighten out the situation,” Marquez told the Post.

The players’ anger boiled over after the Mexico Football Federation revealed the details of, and then publicly chastised them for, a party that took place at the Camino Real hotel in Monterrey just hours after their Sept. 7 win over Colombia. They felt their privacy had been violated, since the shindig took place after the 1-0 victory and on their own grown-up time.

“I think because I am he captain of the national team, I try to defend my team’s players,” said Marquez, who led the charge on a 14-point letter that demanded changes, namely the proverbial head of De La Torre resign. And he added that the players’ complaints didn’t just start with Partygate.

“It was many things that happened before the World Cup; and after that, the way they handled things now, that’s why things became so messy. Things happened before and adding what happened now it’s not being handled properly.”

The whole affair, no pun intended, had to be maddening for Salcido. The married Fulham man apparently invited a nice young lady named Yamille to the party, where they reportedly made out in a bathroom. Somehow he didn’t find out she was a transvestite until the story broke and she told him on _ get this _ instant messenger, as she proceeded to give interviews like this one….

At any rate, the Mexican federation has responded with the predictable righteous indignation, stamping their feet and insisting _ like DMX and Denzel said _ they run (stuff) around here.

“Around here nobody sits down to talk demanding conditions,” FMF secretary general Decio De Maria told the AP yesterday. “Nobody sits at the table with conditions about how to fix a problem. Nestor is the director and his head is not on the table as a condition for talks.”

“There is a problem to fix, but without conditions,” De Maria added, dismissing their argument about having their free time impinged by saying “This argument is about semantics. Trying to talk about where official duties end is an uphill battle.”

For now, Marquez’ uphill battle included going over De La Torre’s head, telling the Post “No, more up than him. Another level. I will try to bring a solution, we try to fix (the problem). The negotiation has to be the best for both sides.”

The 31-year-old Marquez said he doesn’t expect this to alter his position with Mexico, slated to play in the Red Bulls game on Saturday but then miss the tilt against visiting MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake due to El Tri duty. He added that he’d volunteered to serve in some capacity in the federation, but “That’s in the future. Not right now, down the road, really down. Five or ten years.”